Road working machine



. 6, 1934- J. E. CARLSON 1,945,518

ROAD WORKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 50, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JAMES E. Camsom ATTORNEY Feb. 6, 1934. J. E. CARLSON ROAD WORKING MACHINE Filed Jan.

50, 1932 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR JAMES E 5/7 L50N ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to road working machinery and the primary object is to provide a. highly efllcient, practical, and novel design of machine for grading and maintaining gravel and dirt roads. A further or more specific object is to provide a drag frame for attachment behind a tractor, or other power unit, and having a cutting unit for optional engagement with the road surface to plane ofl corrugations and other irregularities, together with novel means for mounting and adjusting the unit. A further object is to provide a drag frame with trowelling means and supporting wheels with means for adjusting the same whereby said supporting machine, or to partly take up some of the weight thereof when it is desired to have the trowelling means exert relatively less downward pressure on the road material being worked upon. These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed in the course of the following specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which I Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the'machine showing it as hitched behind a tractor.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the machine, with fractional parts thereof broken away'for purpose of illustration. 1

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation as on the line 3-3 in Fig. 2, but with the-ground wheels in a position to carry the entire weight of the machine.

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the machine as i seen from the right in Fig. 1, the ground wheels, 35 in this instance, being entirelyv raised from the road surface.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional elevation ontheline55in1l.g.4.

6 is a sectional detail view on the line 6-6 in F18. 5.

Referring to the drawings more particularly and by reference characters, A and B respectively designate front and rear trowelling beams, each of which is made up of an angle iron 7, a trowelling shoe 8, a space bar 9 and a vertical front plate 10, all rigidly secured together. The members 89 of each beam are obliquely slanted or beveled off, as at 11, so that as the beams are moved over the road they will not have a scraping or cutting action, as with a conventional drag or scraper blade, but will merely ride over and smoothen down the unevenly distributed relatively loose material. when the beams meet with unusually heavy quantities of loose material they will also serve to effect a distributing wheels may be used to either support the entire action, under the weight of the machine which is carried on the beams, and the spreading tendencies of the blades or plates 10. It may also be noted that the bevels 11 are so designed that they will permit stones of a predetermined size to pass under the beams and be pressed thereby into the road surface, but that the larger and more undesirable stones will not pass under the beams but will be propelled alongby-the plates until they ultimately find their way out to one side of the machine.

It may here be noted that the forward trowelling beam is-provided with a cutting blade 12 which'is preferably adjustable and removable, as disclosed in my co-pending' application Serial No. 525,383; flied March 26th, 1931, for Road grader. It may here further be explained thatthe present application discloses a number of other features which are common to those dis-' closed in the aforesaid application, as well as be-' .ing common to certain features disclosed in 'my co-pending application I Serial No. 589,912, filed January 30th, 1932, for Roadmachine, and to the extent that such features are disclosed in said earlier applications the present application may be considered as a continuation in part thereof.

Referring again to the present disclosure it will be seen that the two trowelling beams. A a and B, are rigidly connected by a pair of heavy cast housings or hollow yokes C and D, which are bolted to the beams, as at 13. and are provided, at their forward ends, with brackets 14 to which the ends of a draft-chain 15 may be adjustably secured. This chain has an intermediate forward connection with the drawbar 16 of a tractor T, andjcan obviously be attached so that the machine can be drawn along at any desired angle with respect to--the line of draft. For roadplanins purposes the machine is preferably drawn as with the beams A and B in a directly transverse position across the road, but whenused for trowelling only the machine is most efllcient when operating at a slight angle tosuch position, and to that end the beams A and B, as well as the planer beam unit E, are offset, as shown in Fig. 2, with respect to each other so that they may properly 1 follow each other when operated at such angle.

The planer unit E comprises a channel'iron beam 17 to which are attached, as by bracket 1 plates 18, a plurality of planer blades 19. These blades, as shown, are arranged in oppositely obliqued series, as in my application Serial No. 525,383pbut are angularly disposed with respect to the perpendicular and otherwise more aocurately follow the design of blade as shown in my application Serial No. 589,912 to which attention is directed for a more detailed explanation of the function and advantages of the blade arrangement shown.

The beam 17 is rigidly secured, as at 20, to the rear ends'of heavy cast levers or arms 21,-which are movable upwardly into the forward ends of the beams C and D, and have their forward ends pivotally attached thereto as at 22. The arms 21 are simultaneously raised and lowered by reversely threaded bars 23 which are pivotally connected to the arms 21 as at 24. These bars have threaded engagement with bevel gears 25 contained within chambers formed by casings 26 attached to .the housings C and D. The gears 25 are in turn engaged by bevel pinions 27 carried .on the opposite ends of a shaft 28 having a hand wheel 29. Thus it will be seen that the beam 17 may be raised and lowered and set in any desired position with respect to the beams A and B, by manipulating the hand wheel 29.

The machine is supported and carried, when not in active use, upon a set of three caster wheels 30, 31, and 32, the first of which has a shank 33 for swivelling engagement with a bearing member 34 in the forward apex end of a V-shaped frame 35, the rear ends of which are pivotally anchored as at 36 to the rear ends of the housings C and D.

The caster 30 is moved into and out of supporting engagement with the ground by vertically adjusting the forward end of the frame 35 with respect to the forward part of the approximately rectangular frame or unit A-BC D. These adjustments are efiected by the following described mechanism. A threaded, vertically disposed shaft 37 is connected at its lower end to the beam A by a connector 38 permitting swivelling as well as tilting action of the shaft. The shaft 37 operates in a pair of large nuts 39 which are non-rotatably secured in a pair of channel members secured back to back to form a cross bar 40, which cross bar is supported by a pair of coil springs 41 on a second cross bar, 42, secured to the frame 35 as by U-bolts 43. A pair of tie bolts may in turn be carried with the frame 35 by the trowelling frame, by rotatingthe shaft 37 until the desiredadjustment is had. Likewise it will also be noted that through the same mechanism and by similar adjustments the wheel 30 may be adjusted so as to partially relieve some of the weight on the forward trowelling beam, as may be found desirable to do under certain circumstances.

The shaft 37 may be rotated to effect the foregoing noted adjustments in various ways, but I find it practical to employ a device for this purpose such as shown and which includes an endless adjuster chain 46, which passes around a sprocket gear 47011 the upper end of the shaft 37, thence forwardly over a pair of pulleys 48 at the upperend of a standard 49, on the tractor, and under a pulley 50 connected to the tractor platform 51 by a spring 52. Thus the operator of the tractor, sitting on the seat 53 or standing on the platform 51, can rotate the shaft 37 in either direction, to effect the desired adjustments, by pulling on one side or the other of the chain 46. The spring 52 will of course compensate for differences in movements as between the tractor and the machine being drawn, and will insure the retention of the chain in a taut condition at all times. It may here be noted that the chain 46 preferably operates in a tubular or curved guide 54, extending around the sprocket wheel 47. This guide prevents disengagement of the chain 46 with respect to the gear 47, and 'must of course be rotatably supported with respect to the members 37 and 47.

The trowelling beam B, or the rear end of the machine, is raised and lowered with respect to the caster wheels 31, in conjunction with the adjustments of the beam A with respect to caster 30, by mechanisms now to be described. 1

Rotatably mounted in the rear-ends of the housings C and D are a pair of threaded shafts 55, the upper ends of which project through bear 2 ing caps56 and are provided with sprocketgears 57. These gears are engaged by a triangularly arranged endless chain 58, a forward portion of whichalso extends about a sprocket gear 59 on the shaft 37, with a result that when the shaft 37 is rotated it will simultaneously and correspondingly rotate the two shafts 55.

To insure retention of the chain 58 in proper operative position with respect to the gears 57 and 59, and to protect it from the elements, 1 provide guide pipes 67, through which the chain is passed, and which are suitably supported as 'by end brackets 68. i

The shafts 55 are held against vertical move? ments in the casings C and D, but operate in collars 60 (Fig. 3) which are subject to vertical adjustments, on the shafts, when the latter are rotated. These collars 60 are pivotally connected to levers 61 the forward ends of which have freedom for a limited, Vertical movement in slots 62 of inner housing walls 63. Said forward lever ends are held yieldably. upward in theslots 62 under the actionof springs 64acting on draw. bolts 1 65 having adjuster nuts 66 for adjusting the tension of the. springs.

The rear ends of the levers 61 are forkedor... bifurcated to engage between laterally project-.125

mg lugs of blocks 69, which are slidable on ver-u tically disposed shafts 70 rigidly mounted in rearward extensions 71 of the housing units C and D. The blocks 69-operate between upperand lower bearings 72 of the yokes 73 which carry the caster :13? wheels 31 and 32. Thus it will be seen that when the shafts 70 are rotated they will operate through the elements 6061, 69-70, and 73, to move the casters 3l32 into and out of supporting engagement with the ground; and, also,;when thecasters are supporting the machine, as in Fig. 3,

. the springs 64 will take up jars and vibrations im being to provide means whereby the machine may v be drawn in the direction of its transverse length, 145 thus taking up considerably less road space when 1 being transported from one location to another.

in. this event the left end of the Qc'hain 15 is (re-- tached from its bracket .14 an'd is ;attached-to some convenient part of the machine, such as an 150 eye 74. and the machine is then arranged longitudinally with and attached behind the tractor.

The operation and use of the machine may be briefly explained as 'follows: When being transported from one location to another the machine is carried on the caster wheels 30, 31, and 32, as shown in Fig. 3. The machine may be drawn in the transverse position behind the tractor, as indicated in Fig. 1, or as immediately above described. The ends of the chain 15 can be attached to the right bracket 14 and to the eye '74 so that the machine can be drawn in a longitudinal position behind the tractor. When the machine is to be converted intooperative use it must of course be drawn in the direction as shown in Fig. l, and in this case the operator pulls upon the proper side of the chain 46 until the vertical threaded shafts 37 and 55 have been rotated to effect the necessary lifting of the caster wheels until the shoe plates 8 of the trowelling beams A and B are in supporting contact with the road surface.

If the machine is to'be used for trowelling purposes only then the planer unit E is carried in the raised position shown in Fig. 3, and unless it is desired to place some of the weight on the caster wheels 3031, and 32, the trowelling unit will carry the entire weight of the machine so that as they are pulled forwardly over the road surface they will tend to exert a trowelling action upon theloose material and will smoothen and press it down uniformly throughout the width of the road. The inclined surfaces or bevels 11 have a tendency to move the earth under the trowelling shoes 8 as the machine moves forward, but in the event that either one of the beams A or B meets with an unusually large volume of loose road material it will have a tendency to carry that material forwardly and spread it into the relatively lower parts of the road. The scraper blade 12 may or may not be used, as circumstances may require, but when in use will have a tendency to cut away sharp irregularities in the road surface before such surface is traversed' by the respective trowelling beams. It may also be noted that while the trowelling beams are so designed that they will permit small rocks and stones to pass under the ator turns the hand wheel 29 to rotate the bevel gears 25, thus lowering the threaded bars 23 until the blades 19 have been adjusted to the proper working depth in'the road surface. As the machine now moves forwardly the blades 19, due to their peculiar angular positions with respect to the line of draft and also with respect to the ventional grader blade. With the use of this arrangement of planer blades the high spots are shaved or planed from the road and are left in the form of loose material directly behind the respective blades, and this material is trowelled down and smoothed over by the trowelling beam B in the manner first above set forth.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in the structure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fully illustrated and described my invention, what I claim to be new and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. A road machine comprising a frame, a. pair of trowelling beams and a road planing device carried by the frame, three spaced ground engaging caster wheels adapted to carry the entire frame, and means for simultaneously raising the caster wheels out of supporting engagement with the road.

2. A road machine of the character described comprising a pair of trowelling beams connected by chambered housings, a planer unit disposed between the trowelling beams, and bracket arms movable upwardly into said housings for mounting the planer unit with respect to the trowelling beams.

3. A road machine comprising a main frame having road working elements secured thereto, vertically adjustable caster wheels supporting the rear end of the frame, a secondary frame secured to and vertically adjustable with respect to the main frame, and a ground wheel secured to the secondary frame adjacent the front of the main frame.

4. A road machine comprising a main frame having road working elements secured thereto, vertically adjustable wheels supporting the rear end of the frame, a secondary frame secured to andvertically adjustable with respect to the main frame, and a ground wheel secured to the secondary frame adjacent the front of the main frame, all of said wheels being swingable on vertical axes so as to have caster actions.

5. A road machine comprising a main frame having road working elements secured thereto, vertically adjustable caster wheels supporting the rear end of the frame, a secondary frame secured to and vertically adjustable with respect to the main frame, a ground wheel attached to the secondary frame at the forward end of the machine, and shock absorbing devices operatively connecting the rear wheels and said main frame.

6. A road machine adapted to be drawn behind a tractor and comprising a frame, road working apparatus carried by the frame, wheels adapted for adjustment so as to carry or be carried by'the frame, a draft device for connecting the machine to the tractor, and means extending from the machine for operation by the tractor operator to vertically adjust the said wheels with respect to the main frame, said means 'comprising ,an endless flexible element.

JAB/[ES E. CARLSON. 

